How Do I Live Without You?
by ErPo
Summary: She pulled herself up off of his still, motionless form, and turned away in despair. She stood on her knees and tilted her face upwards towards the cloudy grey skies, and screamed for all she was worth. "HOW DO I LIVE WITHOUT YOU?" NaruHina angst


How Do I live Without You?

"He's not breathing!" huffed the exhausted pink haired medical ninja, as she thrust her hands even harder down on the exposed chest of her seemingly unconscious team mate.

Her hands glowed with chakra, and she squeezed her eyes shut in concentration, her breathing ragged, as her hands trembled in their endeavour. "Come on Naruto! You always bounce back…" she muttered under her breath, the chakra surrounding her gloved hands grew brighter, and then faded slightly, she didn't have much energy left after the long battle against the man she had loved and his new team mates.

Around the medic nin and her comrade, the atmosphere was tense. A young woman with pale lavender eyes stood off to the side slightly, her skin so pale at the moment that she looked like a ghost. Her expression was different than the other girl's, it was a worried anticipation. She smiled slightly, hands clasped together, as she watched the blonde boy on the ground, and the kunoichi hovering over him. The pale Hyuuga heiress was sure of one thing. 'Naruto always came back.'

He never gave up, it was his nindo, his shinobi way. So she smiled nervously, awaiting his return. "I need more chakra!" Sakura, the pink haired nin, cried out, voice hoarse.

Hinata was at the unconscious boy's side in seconds, she placed her hands over his chest, and Sakura gave her a firm smile. She placed her hands over Hinata's and helped transfer the chakra. Hinata winced at how cold Naruto's body was. The fine mist that had been falling from the sky turned into a light rainfall. "COME ON NARUTO!" Sakura roared, and Hinata pushed forth as much of her chakra as she could.

Hinata felt his chest rise slightly under her icy hands, and she gave a cry of joy. Sakura smiled down at him joyously. "Uhn…" he muttered.

His ocean blue eyes fluttered open halfway. He coughed slightly, and more blood trickled from his mouth. The first thing he saw were a pair of pale lavender eyes, glazed with unshed tears, and an angelic face smiled down at him, as if about to cry. "Naruto-kun," the angel's beautiful soft voice breathed his name, and he was in awe.

"Such… a beautiful… angel… am I… dead?" he managed, his voice weak.

Hinata felt her heart leap, and she smiled, lips quivering. "N… no, it's me, Hinata, and you're not dead Naruto-kun," she said, and Naruto looked vaguely surprised.

"H… Hinata… " he mumbled.

Sakura smiled at Naruto. "You scared me…" she said, wiping at her eyes slightly, and then she got up, leaving Hinata to speak to Naruto, although she wanted the blonde boy to herself at the moment, she knew Hinata needed him more,

Naruto felt his vision blurring again, but he continued to drink in the features of the Hyuuga girl. The rain picked up, and came down in heavy sheets now. "Naruto-kun… I'm so glad you're okay…" Hinata said, and didn't have to struggle to fight off a stutter, she could just speak normally for some reason.

"Hinata…" he said her name again, and she smiled.

"Can I tell you something?" she asked softly.

He couldn't move his head enough to nod, so he uttered a 'yes'. "Ever since I first met you… I've admired you… I've always supported you from the sidelines, and I've tried to change myself and be more like you… I've built myself on the lessons I've learnt from you, Naruto-kun," she paused to breathe, and all of her anxiety melted away as she prepared herself to say the words she'd never had the courage to say before, to this boy, this man, "I love you Naruto… I always have, and always will…" she said firmly.

Naruto was astonished. All of his life, this kind, sweet, beautiful girl had been in love with him? And he hadn't even acknowledged her existence for a while. All his life, there had been somebody willing to give him the love and attention he desired, and he hadn't known? And this somebody was that 'dark, plain, and timid' girl, Hinata Hyuuga?

Without even knowing it, Naruto had shaped her life? Had helped her to try and better herself? He'd influenced her, been important to her, received attention and love from her, and in the end, wasn't that all he had ever wanted in the world? All of the things he had received and given to this girl, this girl who, to him right now, was not plain or dark or timid. Right now, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and he couldn't believe that he could only just now see it.

"Hinata…" he managed, his throat hurt badly, "Arigato…"

He felt himself crying, before he was even aware of it. "Arigato, Hinata-chan," he whimpered, and though it hurt terribly, he continued to cry.

His arms wouldn't move, but he forced himself to lift them, and he untied the string about his neck, gritting his teeth, as the pain was unbearable. He finally untied the string with his numb fingers. The first Hokage's necklace, that he had won from Tsunade, was held in his shaking hands. Hinata was hovering over him, and so close to his face, that he was just able to slip it around her head. She gasped in surprise, and pulled it down gently to her neck. "I…" Naruto felt himself growing tired.

Hinata's beautiful eyes urged him silently onwards. "I… really… like…"

He closed his eyes, his heavy arm lifting enough to allow him to clumsily caress Hinata's wet cheek. "… people… like you…" he smiled as much as he could.

"Naruto-kun?" she squeaked.

He didn't seem to be breathing anymore, and she panicked. "SAKURA!" she screamed, and said kunoichi was there in moments, emerald eyes wide with concern.

"What's wrong?!?" she asked quickly.

"He… He's stopped breathing again!" Hinata blurted.

Sakura fell back down at his side, and placed her hands over his chest, Hinata did the same, and she struggled to pour more of her chakra into the blonde boy. 'Byakugan!'

She watched in horror as his chakra network became visible to her. She gave a strangled cry. "What is it?!?" Sakura shouted, still attempting to pump her and Hinata's chakra into the boy.

"He's… dead!" Hinata sobbed.

Sakura noted the girl's activated Byakugan, and tears came to her eyes. "N… no…" she whispered.

She smacked the blonde boy's face. "NARUTO! WAKE UP!" she screamed at him.

There was no response. She leapt to her feet and started sobbing, the nearest tree was suddenly split into pieces as her fist connected with it.

Hinata felt her whole body go numb, she could feel nothing but white hot tears stinging her eyes and icy rain pelting her skin and clothes. She fell over his body, sobbing, choking on her ragged breaths, her body convulsing with emotional pain.

"Arigato"

"Arigato, Hinata-chan,"

"Naruto-kun…" she managed to choke out amidst her sobbing.

Sakura was still demolishing innocent trees in her blind rage, screaming and roaring. Hinata couldn't bring herself to pull her defeated, slumping form up off of his cold body. She just shook with misery and eventually drowned out the other kunoichi entirely, no longer aware of the presence of anybody but herself and the boy she was sobbing over. "Come back… please…" she whimpered into the boy's icy chest.

She half expected his steady heartbeat to meet her ears again, or to feel his chest rising and falling slowly. But she was met only with the sound of the heavy rainfall, and the feeling of the icy droplets soaking her form thoroughly. "N… Naruto… you always come back…" she choked.

She sniffled. "Come… back!" she managed, her voice cracking.

The sound of rain hitting the ground drummed in her ears. There was no blonde boy assuring her that he was okay, that he'd make it, that he didn't mean to scare the two kunoichi like that. "No… you… never give up! That's your nindo! That's… our nindo! COME BACK!" she wailed, her eyes so hot with tears she thought they might burst into flames.

She pulled herself up off of his still, motionless form, and turned away in despair. She stood on her knees and tilted her face upwards towards the cloudy grey skies, and screamed for all she was worth. Her roar of anguish echoed throughout the darkened skies, and her despair and heartbreak lingered, even longer than her echoed cries.

"HOW DO I LIVE WITHOUT YOU?!?" she screamed desperately, partially hoping that he'd come back to answer her inquiry.  
Knowing that he never would.

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A/N: It was rather short… but I wrote it to accompany a piece I drew and submitted to Deviantart. (The link's on my bio! 8D OH YEAH! Shameless self-advertising!)  
Honestly… writing something so depressing made me wanna cry… but it was amazing to write… I don't know why writing stuff like this is so… exhilarating!  
Well…  
This takes place after Naruto and Sasuke's final battle. And don't worry, Sasuke is dead too!   
: )

No way I'd let Sasuke live!  
SO! Please review?   
:3


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